Florida is more in play for Democrats than ever before, and this trip is a way to appeal to folks in places like Florida because there's been a lot of growth in the Puerto Rican population there.

Welcome to Politics Bites, where every afternoon at WNYC's It's A Free Country blog, we bring you the unmissable quotes from the morning's political conversations on WNYC. Today on the Brian Lehrer Show, Angelo Falcon, President and founder of the National Institute for Latino Policy, discussed the significance of President Obama's visit to Puerto Rico and the way changes in Latino demographics will impact the 2012 election.

What Puerto Rico means to Florida

Angelo Falcon noted that it seems like a strange visit for the president to make. Puerto Ricans can vote in presidential primaries, but not in the general election-so why is Obama making a fundraising excursion there, especially when Puerto Rico's governor is more a Tea Party favorite who's been slashing budgets?

Florida is traditionally known as a Republican stronghold. Now there are so many Puerto Ricans in the state, more than 700,000, that it's kind of changed the calculus down there politically. It's more in play for Democrats than ever before, and this trip is a way to appeal to folks in places like Florida because there's been a lot of growth in the Puerto Rican population there.

Pennsylvania is another swing state with a large Puerto Rican population. At this stage in the campaign, there's plenty of value in a visit that looks good to Latino voters.

'He's walking into a lot of issues'

Most Americans have little knowledge of Puerto Rico's problems, much less the complex workings of the Puerto Rican government. Falcon cited the issue of statehood and a pronounced, protracted economic slump that's worse than most on the mainland. How Obama addresses these concerns could have a surprisingly large impact on his reelection effort, said Falcon.

The official unemployment rate is about 16 or 17 percent. It's a major economic crisis, and a White House task force is meeting in Puerto Rico the day after the president leaves to talk about economic issues having to do with Puerto Rico. The president is going to be talking about federal stimulus money that went to Puerto Rico to highlight difference it made.

He's walking into a lot of issues which will resonate with how his presidential campaign develops. People don't vote for President in Puerto Rico, but they do raise money and they send a sizable delegation to theDemocratic convention.

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This weblog tries to draw from many different ideas, cultures, religions, and methodologies that have helped to shaped whom I am. I may differ with some of the authors of some of material I post or links that I have here. My other blog "Islam is the Sunnah and Sunnah is Islam" is more oriented toward the correct Salafi understanding of Islam.

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Khalil

About Me

I am 35 years old, and I adhere to the Salafi methodology/way. I was born in the Bronx to New York Puerto Rican (Catholic) parents. During my teenage years, I starting to learn about my history since of course they don't teach us that in school. As a teenager, I had a lot of interaction with "Latino" and African-American Muslims. That lead to me taking my shahadah during my first semester of college. I eventually earned a bachelor's of art with a double major in Arabic and political science at the State University of New York at Binghamton. My concentration was in the Middle East and North Africa Studies. In 2000, I was offered a scholarship to study at Umm Al-Qura University. I studied there from 2000 to 2005. May Allah reward King Fahd (rahimahullah) for giving me a scholarship to teach in Saudi, Amin. Alhamdulillah, I have been fortunate to have sat with several scholars in Saudi Arabia. I currently live in Saudi Arabia with my wife and two children. I also hold a master's in TESOL.